Disability

It is widely recognised that disabled people experience disadvantage in many aspects of daily life. Islington Council is committed to working with disabled people to tackle disadvantage and create a borough where people of all backgrounds can achieve their full potential.

Improving The Life Chances of Disabled People

In 2005, the Government published ‘Improving the life chances of disabled people’. The report clearly set out in quantifiable terms the disadvantage disabled people experienced, compared with non-disabled people.

In summary, disabled people are:

• more likely to live in poverty
• less likely to have educational qualifications
• less likely to be in work
• more likely to experience hate crime or harassment
• more likely to experience problems with housing
• more likely to experience problems with transport

The life chances report also noted that the causes of disadvantage are complex. For example, people who have a low income are more likely to become disabled. If we are to tackle the root causes of the disadvantage disabled people experience, a joined-up approach is vital.

The Social Model of Disability

The social model of disability is key to understanding the disadvantage identified in the Government’s report. The social model is a civil rights based approach to disability, the poverty, disadvantage and social exclusion experienced by disabled people is not the inevitable result of their impairment or medical condition, but rather barriers stemming from the way society is organised.

Examples of the barriers disabled people face include:

• buildings that are built in a way that prevents disabled people from accessing them
• information that is produced in ways that disabled people cannot use
• attitudes and stereotypes about disabled people which prevent them from having the same opportunities as non-disabled people
• special services that are created in a way as to keep disabled people cut off from everybody else

Disability Equality Scheme

Islington Council has worked with local disabled people to develop a comprehensive approach to promoting equality of opportunity between disabled and non-disabled people in everything we do. This is set out in our Disability Equality Scheme (DES) which was published in December 2006.

In the DES, we set out the steps Islington Council will take to:

• promote equality of opportunity between disabled and non-disabled persons
• eliminate unlawful discrimination
• eliminate disability-related harassment
• promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
• encourage participation by disabled people in public life

The DES includes a three-year action plan that sets out the actions Islington Council will take to systematically promote disability equality in everything that we do. The DES will be updated annually and fully reviewed every three years.

The Law

Relevant legislation includes the following:

• Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995
• Disability Rights Commission Act (DRC Act) 1999
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) 2001
• Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005

For further information, click on the links on the right for The Law and Disability Issues.